1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to visual effects devices and in particular to a curved reflective viewing container having an interior curved reflective surface therein, a means for suspending any of a variety of objects within the near focal field of the curved reflective surface and for causing any of a variety of types of relative motion between the object or objects and the interior curved reflective surface, and at least one opening for simultaneously viewing the object or objects and the reflected image of the object or objects in the interior curved reflective surface, so that relative motion between the object or objects and the interior curved reflective surface produces distorted visual images of the object or objects in the interior curved reflective surface of the viewing container visible to an observer through the opening.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many people are fascinated by interesting visual images produced by visual effects devices and can spend hours engaged in observing these effects and manipulating the devices to produce the effects. Kaleidoscopes are a primary example of visual effects devices which are very popular as toys for children and coffee table or office items for adults. Normally the observer looks into the viewer of a kaleidoscope and turns it while holding it up to a bright light for viewing multicolored and multi-shaped effects of either internal objects movable within a viewing enclosure or external objects seen through any of a variety of distorting lens configurations.
Advertising and sales displays take advantage of special visual effects devices to catch people's attention and make them aware of the product and its advantages. Interesting and unusual visual effects draw people in to explore the effect. Motion and color are both highly effective in visual displays to draw people's attention. Visual distortion of objects is also a highly effective attention getting device.
A number of prior art devices produce visual effects in a variety of ways. U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,541 issued to Stone shows an amusement device formed by winding a thin strip of reflective material into an elongated coiled configuration to create a tubular spiral with internal overlapping elliptical reflective layers formed by the coiling of the strip of reflective material. The Stone device is taped together to retain its shape and placed over a patterned target for viewing the multiple images of the pattern in the reflective coils of the spiral, producing a kaleidoscopic effect. The number of images produced by the Stone device corresponds to the number of overlapping layers along the length of the coiled configuration. The object rests on a horizontal surface and is stationary relative to the amusement device and cannot be suspended and moved in various positions within the Stone device. Therefore, in the Stone device, the visual effect is primarily a kaleidoscopic effect based on different reflections produced on each exposed layer of the device inside the tube formed. The Stone device does not provide a means for suspending any desired object within a near focal field of a curved reflective surface to permit the object to be reflected in the curved reflective surface and the reflections and object viewed simultaneously while enabling movement of the object relative to the curved reflective surface in a variety of different types of movement to permit different visual effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,164,923 issued to Knott provides a ball, rattle, rolling toy, tree ornament or other spherical object having internal visible reflective surfaces formed into angled flat surfaces or spherical dish-shaped or curved surfaces for reflecting various colored or patterned surfaces in relative motion with the reflective surfaces for varying visual effects. The Knott devices do not provide a means for suspending any desired object within a near focal field of a curved reflective surface to permit the object to be reflected in the curved reflective surface and the reflections and object viewed simultaneously while enabling movement of the object relative to the curved reflective surface in a variety of different types of movement to permit different visual effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,206 issued to Daymon reveals a collapsible truncated conical reflector used in solar heating applications or reflective lighting applications which is formed from a portion of an arcuate shaped reflective surface with foldlines for ridges therein connected together at the ends by tabs and slots. The Daymon device does not provide a means for suspending any desired object within a near focal field of a curved reflective surface to permit the object to be reflected in the curved reflective surface and the reflections and object viewed simultaneously while enabling movement of the object relative to the curved reflective surface in a variety of different types of movement to permit different visual effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,000 issued to Adler discloses a flexible mirror with a flexible foam frame which may be bent or twisted into various configurations for viewing a user's distorted reflections. The Adler device is not a container and is not intended for viewing objects and does not provide a means for suspending any desired object within a near focal field of a curved reflective surface to permit the object to be reflected in the curved reflective surface and the reflections and object viewed simultaneously while enabling movement of the object relative to the curved reflective surface in a variety of different types of movement to permit different visual effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,835,876 issued to Jenkins claims a drum shaped container having faceted planar reflective surfaces around the interior and a rotatable circular bottom platform for placing objects thereon to be viewed kaleidoscopically in the faceted reflective sides of the drum. The Jenkins device does not provide a curved reflective surface and does not provide a means for suspending any desired object within a near focal field of a curved reflective surface to permit the object to be reflected in the curved reflective surface and the reflections and object viewed simultaneously while enabling movement of the object relative to the curved reflective surface in a variety of different types of movement to permit different visual effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,055 issued to Poythress et al. indicates an amusement device for collecting coins having a clear funnel for receiving the coins mounted over a reflective hemispherical dish with a central hole into which the bottom end of the funnel is inserted. As coins spiral down the funnel the image in the reflective dish appears to be coins floating in space. The Poythress device does not provide a means for suspending any desired object within a near focal field of a curved reflective surface to permit the object to be reflected in the curved reflective surface and the reflections and object viewed simultaneously while enabling movement of the object relative to the curved reflective surface in a variety of different types of movement to permit different visual effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,716 issued to Matsubara describes a kaleidoscopic viewing device having an outer tube with an end reflective conical or pyramidal surface for viewing combined reflections of lined patterns on a movable tube within the outer tube. It provides a solid pyramidal or conical reflective surface at the end of a tube for viewing a single constructed image in the reflective surface based on lines imprinted in the tube. The Matsubara device does not provide a means for suspending any desired object within a near focal field of a curved reflective surface to permit the object to be reflected in the curved reflective surface and the reflections and object viewed simultaneously while enabling movement of the object relative to the curved reflective surface in a variety of different types of movement to permit different visual effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,884 issued to Kelderhouse et al. illustrates a kaleidoscope formed of a triangular reflective tube having an end container for objects which may be rotated to view the kaleidoscopic effects in the reflective tube. It has a three-panel reflective surface formed into a triangular tube, not a curved reflective surface. The Kelderhouse device does not provide a means for suspending any desired object within a near focal field of a curved reflective surface to permit the object to be reflected in the curved reflective surface and the reflections and object viewed simultaneously while enabling movement of the object relative to the curved reflective surface in a variety of different types of movement to permit different visual effects.
Some prior art devices use single or double reflective hemispheres with a single stationary object as scientific displays, and one prior art device utilized a ball permanently attached to a string for viewing in a reflective hemisphere. None of the prior art devices seem to make a provision for eliminating the rim ring reflections produced around the reflective surface adjacent to the opening, which rim ring reflections can detract from the aesthetic value of the reflections of an object being viewed and none made provisions for suspending any desired object interchangeably and movably and repositionably in any part of the near focal field of the reflective hemisphere.
None of the prior art devices provides a viewing container having a curved interior reflective viewing surface with a near focal field within which objects may be suspended for simultaneously viewing reflections of the objects and the objects themselves and a means for suspending any desired object within the near focal field and for creating any number of desired types of relative motion between the object and the reflective viewing surface, and a large opening in the container for viewing both the object and the reflection. Additionally, none has a conical reflective viewing container which has a flexible reflective interior surface and is adjustable in size and collapsible into a flat configuration with a means for placing any desired object within the near focal field of the reflective conical viewing container and creating any desired type of relative motion, or the appearance of relative motion, between the objects and the viewing container. None of the prior art provides a curved reflective viewing container which flattens and opens inside a greeting-card type hinged folder having a means for suspending and moving objects within the near viewing field of the curved reflective viewing container. The unexpected, unusual, changeable, interesting reflections produced by relative motion between a smooth curved reflective surface and objects suspended within the near focal field of the interior curved reflective surface would be most desirable in visual effects applications to view both the objects and the reflections simultaneously.